The present invention relates to a food handling apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved device for indexing stacks of tortillas on conveying apparatus.
A significant problem in tortilla manufacturing is the transporting of finished stacks of tortillas from a counter-stacker to a further handling machine, such as a cutter or bagger. The general operation of a Tortilla Counter-Stacker can be understood from my U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,695, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference. Stacks of tortillas exit a counter-stacker at unsynchronized, and somewhat irregular, time intervals, and in as many as six or more parallel rows on an exit conveyor. The parallel rows of stacks on the exit conveyor are converted to a single row by transition onto a laterally positioned conveyor. A problem is that occasionally the timing of the stacks will be such that two stacks collide. Thus there is a need for occasionally indexing the stacks to avoid collision.
Numerous innovations applicable to a tortilla stack indexer have been provided in the prior art that are described as follows. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they differ from the present invention as hereinafter contrasted.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,777, Entitled, xe2x80x9cTortilla Stacker,xe2x80x9d invented by Richard S. Welsh, discloses an apparatus for stacking tortillas includes a loading unit in the form of a trough-like loading conveyor for transporting a series of dough members while forming a small depression in each of the dough members. A container in the form of an upright hollow cylinder having a retractable loading surface is positioned at the discharge end of the loading conveyor. The tortillas are stacked one-on-top-of-the-other on the retractable loading surface by the loading conveyor. A conveyor located beneath the container receives the stack of tortillas upon retraction of the loading surface. A counter on an inclined chute leading to the conveyor accurately counts the number of tortillas entering the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,831, Entitled, xe2x80x9cAutomatic Tortilla Counter and Stacker,xe2x80x9d invented by James A. Jimenez, discloses a method of stacking articles and an automatically controlled apparatus for successively receiving articles formed of rigid or semirigid sheet material such as cooked or partially cooked tortillas or similar food products. The device automatically forms orderly stacks of a predetermined number of articles, and then automatically carries them away for packaging each stack when completed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,632, Entitled, xe2x80x9cStacking Apparatus for Flexible, Generally Planar Food Products, invented by Richard Sela, discloses an apparatus for counting and stacking food products such as tortillas. The tortillas are initially placed on an entry chute containing a large number of air outlets for creating a cushion of air to allow the tortilla to slide down the entry chute onto an incline conveyor belt. The conveyor belt is of an open mesh design, and it is supported on a belt support having a large number of air inlets which create a vacuum that maintains the tortilla in contact with the belt. The tortillas are carried by the belt down one end of the belt support and along the underside of the belt support with contact between the tortilla and belt being maintained by vacuum creating air inlets formed in the belt support. The air inlets terminate at a location on the underside of the belt support thereby allowing the tortillas to drop from the conveyor belt. The tortillas drop onto a stationary rack formed by rods which are interleaved with conveyor belts moving together as a unit. The conveyor belts are normally positioned beneath the upper surface of the rack. However, when a predetermined number of tortillas have been stacked, the belt is lifted thereby carrying the tortillas from the rack. The mechanism for lifting the belts is actuated by a counter which counts a predetermined number of tortillas passing past a counting station and delays actuating the belt lifting mechanism until the final tortilla has dropped onto the rack. The belts discharging the stacks of tortillas move in the direction opposite the direction that the tortillas are delivered to the rack in order to minimize the time required to remove the tortillas from the rack before an additional tortilla may be placed thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,593, Entitled, xe2x80x9cApparatus and Method of Counting, Inspecting and Stacking Planar Food Products,xe2x80x9d invented by Todd B. Pleake, discloses an apparatus for counting, inspecting, and stacking flexible, generally planar food products such as tortillas, or the like. The apparatus has an inclined infeed conveyor with adjustable alignment guides thereon to adjust the lateral position of each tortilla as it moves to a transit conveyor. Sensors mounted on the transit conveyor count the tortillas and inspect the size and shape of the tortillas to detect any defective tortillas moving along the transit conveyor. At the end of the transit conveyor, an arcuate-shaped trajectory guide bends the tortilla into an arcuate shape as the tortilla leaves the trajectory guide and flies through a known flight trajectory to a stacking mechanism. The arcuate shape allows the leading edge of the tortilla to resist bending or folding. A rejection mechanism positioned between the end of the transit conveyor and the trajectory guide redirects any rejected tortillas detected by the sensors downward away from the trajectory guide. A stacking mechanism receives the tortillas at the end of the flight trajectory. A shaker shakes the stacking mechanism and jostles the stack of tortillas to form a tight, aligned stack. A movable stack plate supports the stack of tortillas in the stacking mechanism and moves downward incrementally as tortillas are stacked into the stacking mechanism so the flight trajectory of each tortilla is approximately the same. The stacking plate has a lowered position that deposits a stack of tortillas on a baseplate, and a stack removal device moves the stack of tortillas away from the stacking assembly to a discharge conveyor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,762, Entitled, xe2x80x9cStacking, Counting and Sorting Device for Flexible, Planar Food Products,xe2x80x9d invented by Daryl G. Duncan, discloses a device for counting, inspecting, sorting, and stacking planar food products such as tortillas. The tortillas are sandwiched between a pair of conveyor belts moving at the same speed to a discharge location between a pair of rollers around which the respective conveyor belts extend. The speed of the tortillas causes them to be flung from between the rollers onto a discharge tray. A counter determines when a predetermined number of tortillas have been discharged onto the discharge tray. The counter then triggers an actuator to remove the tray from beneath the stack of tortillas, thereby allowing them to fall onto a discharge conveyor belt. The discharge conveyor belt is then moved an incremental distance. The tortillas passing through the device are scanned in order to detect defective tortillas. When a defective tortilla is found, one of the rollers at the discharge location is shifted, thereby altering the path of the tortillas flung from the conveyor belts at the discharge location onto a reject discharge conveyor belt.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,601,397, Entitled, xe2x80x9cApparatus for Counting and Stacking Tortillas,xe2x80x9d invented by Manuel Lopez and Rafael Lopez, discloses an apparatus having a series of conveyor belts for flattening and stacking a plurality of flexible, generally planar articles, such as tortillas. The apparatus includes a first conveyor belt extending along first end, upper, second end and lower surfaces of a belt support. The conveyor belt is adapted to move the planar articles placed on the upper surface of the belt support from the first end to the second end. A second conveyor belt is biased against the first belt at the second end of the belt support for applying compressive and lateral forces to the planar articles as they are moved along the second end of the belt support. A third conveyor belt is located beneath the first and second conveyor belts for receiving the planar articles from the first belt, forming stacks of them, and then discharging the stacked planar articles. Motor assemblies drive the first, second, and third conveyor belts.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,316, Entitled, xe2x80x9cCounting and Stacking Apparatus,xe2x80x9d invented by Johnny B. Pomara, Jr., discloses apparatus for counting and stacking substantially flat articles, such tortillas, which includes a first belt type feed conveyor, a second belt type stacking conveyor intermeshing with a vertically movable stacking rack or fork, and a take-away conveyor. The articles are sequentially fed from a conventional conveyor from apparatus such as an oven to the feed conveyor beneath a counting switch. Each article is discharged from the feed conveyor in a stacked relationship to the stacking conveyor against the stacking rack. When the desired number of articles are stacked on the stacking conveyor against the rack, the rack rapidly retracts downwardly releasing the stack for discharge to the take-away conveyor. Between the time of discharge of each stack and the arrival of the first article for forming the next stack, the stacking rack returns upwardly to intermeshed relationship with the stacking conveyor for forming and holding the next stack.
U.S. Pat. No., 5,531,156, titled, Automatic Taco Machine,xe2x80x9d invented by Brummett, discloses an automatic taco machine can automatically make both soft and hard tacos. Storage compartments for soft tortillas and hard taco shells are mounted above a V-shaped conveyor. A soft tortilla is removable from a stack of tortillas by a vacuum pick-up head and is heated and is inserted between a pair of heated plates where it is compressed and heated. A pusher bar moves downwardly through slots in the heater plates to fold the tortilla and push it onto the conveyor. A hot food dispenser and a cold food dispenser dispense hot and cold food onto the tortilla as it is moved by the conveyor. A hard taco shell is removable from a stack of taco shells by a reciprocally mounted peeler which separates the bottom taco shell from the stack and supports the stack while the bottom taco shell drops to the conveyor. The conveyor moves the taco shell past the hot and cold food dispensers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,398, titled, Unstacking Machine and Method,xe2x80x9d invented by Montemayor, et. al., discloses a device for unstacking thin, flat articles, particularly flexible articles, and especially tortillas, from a stack of the same, which includes means for repetitively picking up the topmost tortilla in a stack and conveying it to a moving belt where it is deposited individually and separately and moved to a further processing operation. The pick up means includes a rotating cylinder having holes in its surface through which suction acts on the tortillas, to temporarily hold them to the cylinder, and belts around and rotating with the cylinder which transfer the tortillas from the cylinder to the moving conveyor.
Numerous innovations for a tortilla stack indexer have been provided in the prior art that are adapted to be used. Even though these innovations may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they would not be suitable for the purposes of the present invention as heretofore described.
This invention provides an improved tortilla stack indexer where stacks of tortillas are transitioned from multiple parallel rows on an exit conveyor to a single row on a transverse conveyor. The indexer includes electric eyes for sensing the leading edges of stacks. Drive interrupters beneath the exit conveyor stop stacks temporarily when the electric eyes sense a collision path between stacks.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tortilla stack indexer having exit conveyor, transverse conveyors, stacker conveyor, electric eye, and drive interrupter.
More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide the transverse conveyors with a transverse conveyor roller.
In keeping with these objects, and with others which will become apparent hereinafter, one feature of the present invention resides, briefly stated, in a stacker conveyor with stacker conveyor roller.
When the drive interrupter is designed in accordance with the present invention, it has a drive interrupter top member, drive interrupter bottom member, drive interrupter actuator, drive arm, and drive interrupter roller.
The novel features which are considered characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of the specific embodiments when read and understood in connection with the accompanying drawings.
10xe2x80x94tortilla stack indexer (10)
12xe2x80x94exit conveyor (12)
12Axe2x80x94exit conveyor motor (12A)
14Axe2x80x94first transverse conveyor (14A)
14Bxe2x80x94second transverse conveyor (14B)
14Cxe2x80x94third transverse conveyor (14C)
14Dxe2x80x94fourth transverse conveyor (14D)
14Exe2x80x94fifth transverse conveyor (14E)
14Fxe2x80x94sixth transverse conveyor (14F)
14Gxe2x80x94seventh transverse conveyor (14G)
14Hxe2x80x94eighth transverse conveyor (14H)
15Axe2x80x94first transverse conveyor roller (15A)
15Bxe2x80x94second transverse conveyor roller (15B)
15Cxe2x80x94third transverse conveyor roller (15C)
15Dxe2x80x94fourth transverse conveyor roller (15D)
16Axe2x80x94first stacker conveyor (16A)
16AAxe2x80x94first stacker conveyor roller
16Bxe2x80x94second stacker conveyor (16B)
16BAxe2x80x94second stacker conveyor roller
16Cxe2x80x94third stacker conveyor (16C)
16CAxe2x80x94third stacker conveyor roller
16Dxe2x80x94fourth stacker conveyor (16D)
16DAxe2x80x94fourth stacker conveyor roller (16DA)
18Axe2x80x94first electric eye (18A)
18Bxe2x80x94first electric eye (18B)
18Cxe2x80x94first electric eye (18C)
18Dxe2x80x94first electric eye (18D)
20Axe2x80x94first drive interrupter (20A) (not shown)
20Bxe2x80x94second drive interrupter (20B) (not shown)
20Cxe2x80x94third drive interrupter (20C) (not shown)
20Dxe2x80x94fourth drive interrupter (20D)
20DAxe2x80x94fourth drive interrupter housing (20DA)
20DBxe2x80x94fourth drive interrupter top member (20DB)
20DBAxe2x80x94fourth drive interrupter top member pivot pin (20DBA)
20DCxe2x80x94fourth drive interrupter bottom member (20DC)
20DCAxe2x80x94fourth drive interrupter bottom member pivot pin (20DCA)
20DDxe2x80x94fourth drive interrupter actuator (20DD)
20DDAxe2x80x94fourth drive interrupter actuator pivot pin (20DDA)
20DExe2x80x94fourth drive arm (20DE)
20DEAxe2x80x94fourth drive arm pivot pin (20DEA)
20DFxe2x80x94fourth drive interrupter roller (20DF)